Earth Hour falls this year on March 28th. We can Vote Earth by switching off our lights for one hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. Or we can vote global warming by leaving our lights on. The results of this ‘election’ will be presented at the Global Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December. It is hoped that one billion votes for Earth will be achieved in order to tell world leaders that action needs to be taken against global warming.
What began as a campaign down under two years ago has grown to become one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. In 2007 2.2 million homes and businesses in Sydney, Australia turned their lights off for one hour.
A year later this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.
Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Over 64 countries are expected to participate.
Earth Hour is a message of hope and a message of action. Everyone can make a difference. See earthhour.org.